They look unique. Always in flashy colors. They’ve held our boots to our skis for decades. And all the hooligans around the mountain seem to be riding them. So what is so special about these Look Pivot bindings, anyway? If you’re looking for the breakdown on all the techy bits, look no further. Or, if you’re more of a “bottom-line” kind of person and want to know how these bindings feel while you’re clicked into them, we describe all that, too.
There are three main reasons Look Pivot bindings are sought after; how it rides on snow, durability, and “safety”. We’ll dive into all of these and even do a little myth-busting. We’ll also talk about the new, Look Pivot 2.0, launched this fall for the 24/25 season.
The Tech Behind Look Pivot Bindings
The Look Pivot uses a unique turntable style heel piece. It stands out when shopping for bindings on the ski shop wall. The pivoting design started all the way back in the 1960s and while the binding evolved over the years, the mechanics are generally unchanged. If you’re curious about a deep dive into Look Pivot’s history (and all the rad retro color options), check out this cool overview with Phil from Ski Talk.
We’ll break down the few main things that this binding design offers compared to other downhill bindings.
Elastic Travel
Elastic travel is the side-to-side and up-and-down movement the binding allows your boot to take while skiing. It sounds a bit spooky when first describing it (wait, my boot moves around while skiing?), but it’s a necessary feature to help your ride feel smooth. If the binding were to be totally static and rigid, any icy patch or vibration would feel harsh and rough on the body. That doesn’t make for comfortable long days on the mountain. The higher the elastic travel, typically the more plush the binding will feel. Just like more suspension or travel on a mountain bike.
Elastic travel also helps prevent pre-release. By allowing the boot to move just a few millimeters during rough conditions or a weird turn, the binding can bring you back in if the force doesn’t exceed a certain amount.
The Numbers
Let’s get into the elastic travel numbers for a Pivot. (Note, that all the specs between the 12, 14, 15, and 18 DIN options for the Pivot are the same, aside from weight.) The toe piece specs refer to horizontal travel, as the toe of your boot moves side to side, while the heel piece specs refer to vertical travel as your heel moves up and down.
A Look Pivot binding offers 45mm of elastic travel in the toe and a whopping 28mm in the heel. Here, the turntable-style heel of the Pivot allows for more travel in the toe, while maintaining contact with the boot. All that heel travel adds lots of suspension for folks in the air a lot and taking big landings.
For comparison, the new Salomon Strive binding offers 47mm of travel in the toe and 15mm in the heel, at a significantly lighter weight (about 300 grams).
If you’re curious, the other major bindings we love to recommend like the Marker Royal Family series and Tyrolia Attacks all ring in with very similar numbers with 30mm in the toe, and around 15mm in the heel. This is the standard, so these bindings still provide plenty of suspension. Just not as big of numbers as the bindings mentioned above.
Mount Position
Another unique feature on the Look Pivot is its short mount zone. The footprint of the binding is considerably smaller than comparable downhill bindings. You’ll see other bindings use plates or wider mount zones. The small footprint can allow the ski to follow its more natural flex pattern underfoot.
If you have a really long or wide footprint for the bindings, some argue that can affect the flex of the ski right underfoot, making it more stiff than necessary.
Is that the case? It’s hard to tell. Folks who are more freestyle skiers or skiers who bend their skis a lot might notice a difference. It’s also likely that this is only noticable on softer skis that don’t feature a metal plate underneath them. Overall, this argument adds to the case that Pivots are the more “intutive” binding that let you feel a little closer to the snow. More on that below.
Stack Height
Stack height refers to how high the binding sits off the ski. The heel sits higher than the toe, which creates a situation where your foot is positioned at an angle, often referred to as the “ramp angle”. The Pivot is unique with a nearly neutral ramp angle. The toe sits at 18mm above the ski, and the heel sits at 19mm above the ski. That’s just a one-millimeter difference between the two, which is just about as neutral as you can get.
Most other bindings ring in pretty similar to the Pivot’s toe height (right around 18-21mm), but their heel usually features more like 4-6mm delta from the toe. Again, we’re just talking millimeters here, so the difference may be pretty subtle, if noticeable at all. However, it’s important to note that as a smaller boot would make the toe and heel piece sit closer together, that angle becomes steeper (and perhaps more noticeable). Some lady shredders with small feet might prefer more neutral bindings for that reason.
One binding does offer even lower stack height numbers: the Tyrolia Attack. Depending on the toe height adjustment, you sit between 12-15mm above the ski on the toe and just 17mm in the heel. While it is not quite as neutral as the Pivot, the Attack does provide a lower ride to the ski. We’ll talk more about how stack height affects the ride below.
Enough of that techy business. How does that translate to snow?
How the Look Pivot Bindings Ride on Snow
The cocktail of tech that we broke down above creates a very unique ride. High elastic travel provides suspension and a smooth ride. Freeriders and skiers who deal with challenging snow conditions find a lot of perks with a binding that specializes in that. With the binding doing the bulk of the work dampening inconsistencies in the snow and at higher speeds, you get less bad vibrations passed up to you from harsh skiing and harsh snow conditions. Some say they feel less fatigue in their legs with a Pivot, with fewer jolts wearing down the muscles and joints throughout the day.
If you’re spending a lot of time in the air and taking big landings, the Pivot’s extensive elastic travel (especially in the heel) can help prevent pre-release on those mega stomps. Especially if the landing wasn’t quite perfect. This one reason why you might see a lot of freeride or freestyle park skiers in Pivots.
The neutral ramp angle and low stack height add to the very natural and intuitive feel of the binding. Low stack heights are great for easier turn initiations and releases. You have a more immediate connection with the snow under you. Again, this neutral angle also helps freestylers who might be riding switch or are spinning frequently.
You’ll notice carving and race skis come fitted with race plates or other elevating lifts, to increase leverage and power when rolling that ski over on edge. In powder, bumps and trees, and off-piste skiing, that becomes a bit overkill and too sluggish.
Durability
In a rock, paper, scissors style match between metal and plastic, metal usually wins. The hefty metal construction of the Pivot 15 and 18 adds to their colorful character and makes them highly desirable. Plastics save weight but can be prone to cracks and other damage if they take a rough impact. Plastics also don’t last as long over time after seasons of use. Metal adds heft and greater durability for the use and abuse we put our gear through. Some find peace of mind knowing their bindings are extra strong.
The Pivot 12 and 14 use plastic in their toe construction (and a slightly different toe wing design), but still offer the metal heel tower and turntable base. Those bindings shave a lot of weight for skiers who aren’t putting as much use and abuse on their bindings, or prioritize a lighter weight when carrying their skis. With the 14 and 15 being so close in the DIN range, the biggest difference there will be if you want an all-metal construction or not. The non-metal builds still offer the same great on-snow-feel benefits.
Safety
Mythbust time. You’ll often hear on the ski forums that Pivots are a “safer” binding alternative. While the turntable design does work to prevent pre-release, the turntable design still does not allow for full horizontal heel release. The only bindings that do that are the new Tyrolia Protector binding (with 30 degrees of rotation either way to release the boot), and the venerable Knee Binding. So when it comes to protecting your ACLs and other ligaments, the Pivot is not necessarily a solution.
Of course, some accidents can be caused by pre-release, which the Pivot design helps prevent. But, some accidents are also caused by staying in when you need to pop out. While we do all we can to minimize risk, skiing is not without any danger. Flying down snowy slopes with wooden sticks on your feet is not a safe way to spend an afternoon. But what’s life without a little danger? We’re lucky to be in a time where the gear is remarkably dialed and has the latest technology to keep us as safe as we can be in this risky sport.
What’s the Look Pivot 2.0 binding all about?
For the 24/25 season, Look launched a special edition Pivot 2.0 with some updates that Pivot fans will be excited about. It’s not necessarily worth the splurge if you’re just breaking into Pivots, but there are some additional features to note. The major components of the Pivot remain the same. So all the nerdiness about elastic travel and neutral stack heights will carry over to this one.
The wizards at Look managed to get a longer adjustment range out of the heel. Compared to other alpine downhill bindings that often can adjust to a boot size larger and smaller, the Pivot hosted just 10mm of adjustment (about 5mm forward and 5mm back, depending on how the mount was completed). So if you changed boot sizes, or sold your sticks, you often needed a remount to accommodate a new boot. This version is 20mm, or 10mm forward and back. That should cover you for a boot size change.
Look also changed the heel tower’s adjustment mechanism. Rather than a flathead, the heel tower now accepts a hex or pozi drive. That is multitudes easier to adjust at high DIN settings as opposed to the flathead.
They’ve also included new plastic bumpers on the heel tower, to preserve the lovely paint job. If you’re constantly using your skis or boot to step out of the heel, rather than a pole, you can scuff the paint. The bumpers are there to let you slam yourself out of skis without fear of chipping the Blue Steel paint job.
Ultimately, the Look Pivot 2.0 is an upgrade, but most enjoyed by aggressive skiers. The heel tower adjustment is a huge improvement for skiers who run high DIN settings, and many of the other upgrades will be appreciated by people who adjust bindings often. If you’re a “set it and forget it” kind of person, the Pivot 2.0 isn’t necessary.
Bottom Line
We’ve gone pretty far into the weeds breaking down why the Look Pivot bindings are so unique. But, as with many things in life, it comes at a price. The Pivots clock a sizeable higher cost than traditional bindings. And whether or not you notice these features on snow is up for debate. It depends on the person.
For a lot of us here at the shop who spend lots of time in different bindings (sometimes back to back) we can start to pick up on subtle differences. But, they’re always subtle. We don’t click into a Pivot and say “holy moly! What a completely different skiing experience!” For most people, a standard binding will be entirely suitable. All of these bindings are held to the same safety standards and pass the same tests to get the DIN and ISO certifications.
Many of us here at the shop ride with Pivots, no doubt. But many of us ride with other bindings, too. You’ll see tons of the new Salomon Strive, Markers, and Attacks all over our quivers. When it comes down to it, if there’s a color and style that sends your ski setup over the moon cool, that’s the one for you. It just happens Look Pivots tend to look the most rad.
